


let the bullets fly, let them rain

by shadowstint



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Quirks (My Hero Academia), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crushes, F/M, First Meetings, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, Slow Burn, no one asked for this but alas, pidge is in support class and lance is in hero class, so basically medium paced burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:34:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21859909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowstint/pseuds/shadowstint
Summary: "They offered to let me apply through recommendation, but I turned it down."His jaw dropped to the floor. "What!? Why? Don't you know how hard it is to get in this school's hero course through the regular entrance exam?""I know. The Garrison has been my dream school ever since I was born." Her brother, Matt, and parents graduated here. Naturally, she was inspired to follow their footsteps. Unlike Matt and her parents though, despite also having a huge love for tech, she originally didn't plan on taking the support course. "I wanted to be a hero, but something happened that made me change my mind."
Relationships: Lance/Pidge (Voltron), Lance/Pidge | Katie Holt
Comments: 23
Kudos: 60





	1. 01

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in like august and just forgot it existed until last night lol i just miss plance.
> 
> had so much plans for this but i just didn't have the time to write so i thought hey maybe i could just post it as an open ended one shot? no?? let me know if this deserves a pt 2.

Being pulled out and excused from a class could mean a couple of things; either he was in big trouble or he had done something so impressive that pro hero and teacher, Shiro, had to be the one to fetch him.

Lance hoped it was the latter.

They walked through the halls of Garrison Hero Academy in silence as Lance tried to think back and remember if he had done anything to piss off anyone these past few days. He got nothing.

The second year stared at the hero's back and pouted. Growing more and more impatient, he finally opened his mouth.

"Excuse me, Shiro- Sir, am I in trouble?"

Shiro turned to him and chuckled. "Don't worry, you're not. Far from that actually. One of my students just need you for something."

Lance's head tilted. "Something good or bad?"

"You'll see."

* * *

Lance stared at the sign above the door.

_Development Studio._

As far as he knew, he didn't send any request for refinement or adjustment to his hero costume. Well, the school's support team liked to tinker with students' costume sometimes, but if this was about that, why couldn't they just talk about it after class?

"Are you coming?" Shiro asked, already stepping inside.

"Yeah, sorry." Lance followed him in and grabbed the door to close it, his metal fingertips clinking with the doorknob.

The sudden sound of engine being activated made him flinch.

Just as he turned around to see where it came from, "Watch out!" a light body clashed with his, cutting both of their screams. Immediately, Lance wrapped his arms around them, holding their head so they wouldn't take too much of the fall.

After a beat, his back hit the ground hard, cushioning said person's body.

The impact wasn't that intense to hurt so much, though. His head didn't get hit or anything, fortunately. More importantly, the person who fell on their front was still on top of him.

When he opened his eyes to check, curious honey eyes behind round specs stared down at him. Above him was a student with short choppy caramel hair, pale skin and... A daisy on top of their head? In a society where 80% of the world had superpowers, strange body features were pretty much the norm, so theirs wasn't uncanny.

Lance thought it was kind of cute, actually.

He shook the thought away, focusing on the situation. "A- Are you okay?" He managed to asked as he looked at them up and down, observing for injuries- which there was none, he was glad.

"I'm fine." Adjusting their glasses, they stood up and added a shy "Thanks."

As soon as Lance got on his feet, his eyes fell on the jet like engine in their shoes. It was hard to miss considering how big it was for their feet. They were probably using it and lost control at some point, causing their bodies to clash.

"Sorry about that." They smiled sheepishly before slightly lifting a foot. "These jet boots aren't easy to get used to."

"Did you get Adam's permission to use the studio this time, Pidge?" Shiro said, approaching the two.

"Yup. He said I can use it as well as all the materials here whenever I want, as long as I don't break anything important."

The hero sighed as if it was his umpteenth sigh of the day, though his words had hints of affection. "And he told you that of all people."

They seemed to be pretty close from how casual their words were. Letting Pidge and Shiro talk for a moment, Lance's eyes roamed around the room.

There were a couple of huge computers on the right side while on the left, a long table and a few desks with various equipments and tools scattered on top. There was also a tremendous mountain of metal pieces and what looked like unfinished support items in one corner.

He never thought he would see a place messier than his family's house whenever their relatives would visit.

"Anyway, Lance-" At the sound of his name, his attention went back to Shiro and the flower-head kid. "I'm gonna leave you two here to talk about your plans for the sports festival."

"Sports festival?" He raised a brow.

It would be an understatement to call the Garrison sports festival a huge deal. It was not only an event where the students could play and battle against each other using their quirks, it was also an opportunity for the students to advertise themselves to different companies and agencies in order to get an internship, or better yet, a job.

It would be broadcasted live for the whole world to see. Everyone and their grandmother considered it as big or even bigger than the Olympics itself. Last year, Lance, along with Hunk and Keith, were able to get recruited by an agency called Voltron led by pro hero, Alfor. Although, they only mostly did normal patrols in the city, it was still an unforgettable experience. He hoped they would recruit him again this year for an internship.

"It's in two months, but it's never too early to prepare." Shiro said. "This is Katie Holt from class 2-F, support course, she'll explain everything. Will you two be okay?" The teacher gave them both a concerned glance.

Holt? He swore he heard it outside of school before.

Katie simply nodded with a reassuring hum and with that, Shiro walked out of the room. Not without pointing on his head as if gesturing something to her before closing the door.

Lance's eyes widened when he turned to her. The daisy on her head was gone.

"I picked it off if that's what you're wondering." She said with a shrug. "Oh and call me Pidge, by the way. I don't like strangers calling me by my first name."

Something about being called a stranger displeased him. That needed to be fixed.

"Okay, well, nice meeting you, Pidge. The name's Lance from class 2-A, hero course." His lips formed a proud grin out of habit. "Shiro said you need me for something?"

"More like you need me."

Those words should've made him feel annoyed at how cocky she sounded, but the confident smirk she wore somehow erased any of his doubts.

* * *

"Let me get this straight." He took advantage of the turning chair to completely face her.

She prepared herself for upcoming questions, taking her eyes off of the screen of her laptop and to the boy sitting beside her.

"Support students are required to choose one person from the other classes and help them win the sports festival this year by giving them a support item that they could use during the games?"

"It's part of our final project this semester, yes."

"And your grades will be based on the ranking of your chosen person by the end of the tournament?"

She adjusted her glasses. "Your performance will be a huge factor."

His gaze dropped for a moment.

That was odd. One second he was all loud and curious and then a beat later all the high energy he radiated was gone. He spoke again, so softly this time that she almost didn't hear, "Why choose me, then?"

Pidge raised a brow at his unexpected tone.

Based from how he acted in the sports festival last year and whenever they would somehow cross paths in the cafeteria, she already assumed he would ask something about why she picked him for possibly an ego boost. What surprised her though, was how gloomy he sounded.

Either he didn't want to participate in this project or he was self doubting. It was hard to decipher.

She gave him an honest answer nonetheless. "Because I'm interested in you."

His eyes snapped back to her and stammered, "W- What?" A tint of pink appeared on his olive skin, his ears turning red as well.

How fast his mood could change was both fascinating and incredibly annoying to Pidge. "What?"

It took her a second to realize what she just said.

Her scalp itched as another daisy grew on her head. "I mean-! N- Not like that!" Shit, her face was heating up. He was impossible. "I just mean that you and your quirk are interesting, that's all!"

"Interesting how?"

Flustered, she picked the flower off her head and threw it to the side, not missing the look of pure curiosity on Lance's face. "Your– Your match with Keith at the sports festival last year, the guy who can shape shift into a cat like purple creature?"

The look of realization and gratitude on Keith's face that day was still as clear as day in her head. Pidge had known Keith since she was 10 and never had she ever saw him fully transform into his galra form willingly and be comfortable with it... until then.

_"The galra you is just you, Keith! You're not a monster! Now, give me all you got!"_

Intentional or not, in that moment, Lance made Keith forget about his mother and the memories, trauma, guilt, and all the weight of the quirk he inherited from her which he miserably carried his whole life.

Lance saved him, in more ways than one, like a real hero should.

"It was an intense match. You were great." She continued, facing her computer again, not used to giving compliments face to face. "That match showed off how... genuine you are with all this hero stuff. Unlike most of the pros and hero wannabes in this society." That last sentence was supposed to stay in her head. She really had to work on her brain to mouth filter.

Blocking unpleasant memories before it could even get to her, she didn't even notice her hands forming a fist until Lance spoke again.

"You got something against heroes?" His eyes narrowed in thought but quickly stiffened when she only glared at him. "Okay, not my business, gotcha. But yeah," He scratched the back of his neck, looking everywhere else but her eyes. "Didn't think I'd stand out in that match. Glad Keith didn't take all the spotlight again. Although, he did deserve a lot of it- just for that match! So," He gave her a soft smile. "Thank you for noticing me, anyway."

His eyes crinkled when he smiled, she noticed.

Something in her chest warmed up and she immediately looked away, pausing the growth of whatever flower was growing on her head. "The sports festival is in 2 months, we should start working asap. So, are you up for it?"

A determined smile replaced his soft one. "Count me in, Pidgey."


	2. 02

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this a multichapter fic now and it's gonna be a semi slow burn. medium paced burn? something like that.

One of the many random great things about being in a prestigious hero school was that everyone was disciplined enough not to cut lines, either because they were future heroes and professionals who were expected to act accordingly to the rules or in fear of being caught breaking them. There were CCTVs in every corner of the cafeteria and basically the whole school for safety purposes. So if one of the students cut lines, they'd go straight into the principal's office. The lines today looked a little short, though.

"Is it just me or does the cafeteria look kinda empty?" Lance asked his fellow hero student and best friend behind him.

"Oh, yeah." Hunk took a good look around before answering. "Some support students are using this time to scout or talk to their chosen presenters for the sports festival. Most of them wanted to do it privately to talk strategies and stuff. You got scouted earlier this morning too, right?"

"Yup! We haven't talked strategies yet. Though, we decided to have meetings everyday after classes." It all sounded exhausting when he said it out loud. The devil worked hard but Pidge worked harder.

He didn't mind, really. Especially since they had a deal.

_"Everyday!? Don't you think that's a bit too much?"_

_"Oh, come on. All you have to do is just sit there while I test some things for half an hour."_

_"Still! What if I have a date? What if there's too much homework? What if my friends ask me to hang out? What if-!"_

_Pidge_ _let out a defeated groan. "Alright, I get it! What do you want?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"As an exchange for you to shut up and come here every afternoon?"_

_First thing that came to his mind was maybe she could buy him lunch, just like what he and Hunk would give each other if one lost a bet or something._

_But he and Pidge had only met about twenty minutes ago and contrary to popular belief, Lance was still polite enough not to ask new friends to buy him things. "Let me think about it. Extra gift if I win the sports fest?" He was only teasing her at that point._

_The easily irritated were his favorite ones to playfully tease._

_Her eye twitched._ _"Fine!"_

Hunk was taken aback. "Everyday? That's too much!"

"Exactly!" Lance exclaimed as the line moved. Soon, their plates were filled with mac and cheese with the most appetizing salad on the side.

With their trays in hand, the two walked around to find the perfect seat. They basically had the whole cafeteria to themselves because of how semi-empty it was. A table near a plant box caught Lance's eye... mostly the person sitting by it.

"Speaking of." He said as he approached the table. Hunk followed with a raised brow. "Pidgey!"

Tired eyes behind big round glasses only blinked up at him.

"Mind if we sit with you?" Lance asked with a smile. She glanced at Hunk curiously and he took that as his cue. "Oh, this is my friend, Hunk. We're in the same class." Said boy gave her a small but friendly hi with a hint of softness that was very Hunk.

There was hesitation. "Hi, uhm, you can sit, I guess." She turned off her phone and left it beside her food on the table.

Once the two had sat down, Lance spoke again, "Hunk, this is Katie Holt. She's the one I'm helping with for the sports festival."

"Correction, _I'm_ helping him. Also, call me Pidge."

"Nice to meet you, Pidge. But wait– Katie Holt?"

It was easy to miss but Lance saw it, how she stiffened very slightly. "Yeah?"

"Holt, like Holt Hero Support Company? The one that works with Voltron and other huge agencies worldwide?" Hunk beamed.

At Hunk's excitement, her body seemed to relax. A proud grin formed on Pidge's lips. "Yup."

Both of Lance's thin brows lifted. So that was why the surname Holt was so familiar. Though, he was sure there was another reason. He probably had all the hero agencies in the country memorized but with support companies, he only knew a few. There had to be a more specific reason why HHSC stuck with him. 

"You know of them?" Pidge asked, the tiredness in her eyes disappearing.

"Of course! Sam Holt's the genius behind every great hero costume out there." Hunk said, almost jumping out of his seat. "Personally, I think Shiro's arm is his best work."

"Yeah, my dad also thought it was, and still, one of his greatest projects."

The carton of milk almost fell off Lance's tray as he slammed the table in shock. "Your dad is _the_ Sam Holt?"

She shrugged. "The one and only, yeah."

He was about to say how cool this new revelation was when memories of news headlines quickly flashed through his mind.

_2 Scientists Hospitalized After Pro-Hero Attacks_

_Pro-Hero Zarkon Arrested For Assault_

_Holt Hero Support Company VS. Daibazaal_ _Agency_

It was a little blurry in his head but now that he was looking at her, he remembered those news were always accompanied by pictures of two men; one of them was a spitting image of Pidge and the other a much older looking scientist who he was sure was Sam Holt.

Lance's body froze in place. That incident happened just a couple of years ago. He wanted to ask so much but he figured he shouldn't say a word. Hunk must have had known about it too. He and Pidge kept talking and he was clearly avoiding talking about anything else other than the company's works with Voltron.

From what Lance had read online, Daibazaal was the biggest hero agency HHSC used to work with. Pro-Hero Zarkon's famous armor-like costume was made by Sam Holt and his team. Everything was going all smooth between the two businesses but then one night, an explosion coming from the HHSC's main building was heard by numerous civilians. The next thing they knew, Sam and his son, was being brought to the hospital. Violet fire covered their office and Zarkon was arrested before he could even escape.

That incident captured the whole world's attention for it caused huge damage to the hero industry's reputation and a shift to people's perspective of heroes in general. Zarkon, one of the top heroes in the country, had almost killed two people. If a hero as respected as him could do something so cruel, then who was it to say that there weren't anymore Zarkons lurking around the hero industry?

_"That match showed off how... genuine you are with all this hero stuff. Unlike most of the pros and hero wannabes in this society."_

Suddenly, her wariness of heroes made so much sense. Lance couldn't imagine what Pidge must have felt. Losing trust in heroes was one thing, but almost losing two people in her family at the same time? Maybe it wasn't best to ask her about it so early on. He wanted to give her a hug right then and there, but she seemed to be enjoying her conversation with Hunk. She would smile a little from time to time, looking more comfortable than when they first sat with her minutes ago.

He sighed in relief and took a bite of his mac n cheese. For the first time, Lance managed to shut his mouth.


	3. 03

"You come here to rock out?"

Pidge jumped at the voice. The sudden breath on her ear triggered her to stand up and use every self-defense move she knew as strong vines grew on the back of her neck, capturing the person who just invaded her personal space.

"Woah, Pidge, I didn't know you had this powerful of a quirk!" Said person exclaimed.

"What the– Lance! Don't do that!"

The hero student tried to get out of the vines' grip once, "Jeez–" twice, "Some strong vines you got here. Kinda uncomfortable, though."

Slowly, the tension in her chest eased up, as well as the vines on the back of her neck which unwrapped from Lance's body. She took a big sigh of relief. Everything was fine, it was just Lance, she was safe for now.

"It's supposed to be uncomfortable. You caught me off guard so I released something that was appropriate for combat." Pidge said as she sat back in front of one of the Development Studio's computers.

Lance grabbed a chair and sat close beside her. _Too close_ beside her. She just met him yesterday. Let him sit with her once and suddenly he was acting like they had known each other for years. Did the disinterested energy she put off at the cafeteria do anything? Most people would immediately leave her alone once she gave them the cold shoulder, but this one wasn't affected at all. Perhaps she needed to physically push him away just to hint that he was distracting. Another invasion of personal space and Pidge wouldn't hesitate.

"Oh, that quirk is for combat alright." He put an arm on the desk and faced her completely. "How does it work? Can you just grow vines on any part of your body? Though, your head could grow flowers too right?"

Despite him being annoying, the pure excitement in his voice encouraged her to explain. "I can grow and manipulate all types of plants on any part of my body, actually. They're just easier to control when they're on my hands, arms, or the back of my neck."

"Well, what about the flower that grows on your head?"

"Flowers grow on top of my head when I'm feeling something extreme. It also depends on the feeling what type of flower will show up." She knew she was sharing a little too much but something was telling her that he wasn't the type to take advantage of information like these to hurt anyone who wasn't a villain. Maybe it was the genuine interest and awe in his eyes or the way he'd breathe _Woah_ every two seconds, or his smile that was so contagious it was irritating.

"So what does a daisy mean?"

She pressed the enter key too hard.

When Pidge was in middle school, no one ever took her seriously whenever she was angry. She didn't blame them, how could one be handling a serious conversation when the person they were talking to had a petunia growing on her head? Needless to say, her quirk contributed a lot to her already rough childhood.

If only she could just blush like a normal person. Instead, a daisy would grow on top of her head whenever she'd feel extreme embarrassment or have butterflies in her stomach, but that was enough quirk information sharing for today. "You'll find out someday." His disappointed pout versus her teasing grin; the battle of the century.

"Don't you underestimate my investigative skills, Pidge. I don't understand though, you have the perfect quirk for both combat and rescue, why didn't you apply for the hero course?"

"They offered to let me apply through recommendation, but I turned it down."

His jaw dropped to the floor. "What!? Why? Don't you know how hard it is to get in this school's hero course through the regular entrance exam?"

"I know. The Garrison has been my dream school ever since I was born." Her brother, Matt, and parents graduated here. Naturally, she was inspired to follow their footsteps. Unlike Matt and her parents though, despite also having a huge love for tech, she originally didn't plan on taking the support course. "I wanted to be a hero, but something happened that made me change my mind."

She anticipated being bombarded by questions again. Her eyes glanced at him when nothing came out of his mouth.

Lance was giving her the _look_. The same look their relatives and family friends had whenever they would catch her sitting by her brother's bed at the hospital. The look reporters would give her whenever her voice quivered while talking about her experience during private interviews with her mom. Lance was giving her that same pitying look. Although, his was more gentle.

He knew.

"Oh." He managed to say.

Pidge bit the inside of her lip. She could feel a petunia growing and she did her best to focus on stopping it. "Drop the act. Everyone knew about it." People should just stop feeling bad for her and focus their attention more on the hero who caused all of the chaos. They should've had done something about the messed up hero industry already and leave the victims alone once they've helped enough.

Lance shifted in his seat. "I don't know the full story, but I'm sorry about your family."

"You don't _have_ to know the full story." That came out harsher than it should. "All you have to know is that not all heroes can be trusted, the industry is full of fakes. Zarkon wanted one of the company's unreleased product to use for his own gain and when Dad said no, he just–" her voice cracked and she paused for a moment. "I've never felt safe around most heroes since then." She didn't even notice how her shoulders went tense again until Lance's metal-tipped hand rested on them.

"Hey. It's okay. I know how it feels." He gave her a gentle squeeze. "I know this is nothing compared to what happened to you but our farm was attacked by villains when I was a kid." His arms fell to his lap again as he took a deep breath as if comforting himself. "My dad had to keep them from hurting us by himself while we wait for the pros to save us. Him, my sister Veronica, and I are the only ones with quirks that could be used for combat, but Veronica was out of town for work that day. I couldn't forget how helpless I felt back then, how terrified my family was, how the thought of not being able to protect them tortured me while my dad got beaten up." Thin brows furrowed in frustration. It was just for a moment but Pidge suddenly had the urge to comfort him just like what he did to her seconds ago. She fought against it. "Thankfully, Shiro and other pros showed up. My dad was brought to the hospital for an injury and some bruises but other than him, everyone was okay. Still, that feeling of not being able to protect them continued to haunt me. That's what led me here. I promised myself, someday I'm gonna become a pro hero and protect my family myself."

"I'm– I'm sorry." She was speechless for a moment. "Isn't Shiro's former agency all the way in Plaht City, though? If the heroes in your town came earlier, none of you would've experienced that."

"Maybe. They would've done something if they were near us, though. It's not their fault we live in a quiet farm with little to no hero agencies around town. We shouldn't blame the pros in every situation, Pidge."

 _But what if they were too late?_ She wanted to ask. Slapping herself internally, she cursed herself for even thinking of something so insensitive. "I know that. I'm not an idiot."

He chuckled, though, it sounded more fond than irritated. "Obviously. What idiot would be able to create amazing tech like these bad boys." The sound of metal clanking filled the heavy silence as Lance lightly kicked the jet boots she forgot she was wearing. It was obvious he was trying to lighten up the conversation and somehow, it worked.

She couldn't help but let out a small snort herself. "Ruin them and I'll ruin your chance at winning the sports festival." It came out unexpectedly less threatening.

"No, no, no! You'll ruin _your_ chance of having a high grade this semester if you do that."

"Let's not let any of that happen by working on your support items now, then." Grabbing her notebook on the side of the table, it was her turn to face him completely. All of the tension and heaviness of the atmosphere gone thanks to this goofball. "I just talked about my quirk. Now tell me everything about yours."

* * *

A million sunsets would happen everyday. Still, Pidge found herself not being able to move her eyes away from the massive windows of the development studio which provided a great view of how the sky slowly turned from orange to pink and blue. One glance at her laptop and she saw that it was already 6 pm. She forced her eyes back to her notes for the umpteenth time that afternoon. She had been sitting there for an hour, thinking of ideas for Lance's support items.

On her notes, there was a one big _"SHOOTING GOGGLES WITH AUTOMATIC TARGET MAGNIFICATION??"_ messily written on a page. Her nose scrunched. It wouldn't be good enough to impress her professors. It wouldn't even be useful for the hero in training himself. Lance already proved that he had an incredible aim at last year's sports festival. So what else could she give him? Thinking of support items to develop would've been as easy as memorizing the digits of pi if it weren't for other things that were going through her head.

Her thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"– and my motorcycle is being repaired."

"For the last time, Keith. You can't borrow my car."

Adam and Keith entered the room, their faces looking exhausted– mostly Adam's.

"I'm gonna tell Shiro you're being a dick to me again." Keith crossed his arms like a child threatening his parent to give his toy back or he'd scream.

"Boo hoo. As if your brother doesn't fear _me_. Just go borrow his instead." The pro hero and teacher lazily put his bag on one of the desks. His eyes then fell on her and immediately beamed. "Oh, hey, Pidge. Still working on Lance's support item?"

"Yeah but, I still have no idea what to make for him yet."

Sitting beside her, Keith rested his back on the edge of the table. "Lance? You mean Serrano? He's the one you recruited for the sports festival?" She expected him to question her decision but was quickly proved wrong, "I guess that's a good choice. His quirk is flexible."

"Flexible enough not to need a support item." She turned the page of her notes and skimmed through it once again. "Finger guns. Basically, his finger tips are like muzzles of a gun. He can shoot lasers on his left hand and bullets on his right. How powerful his lasers are depends on how much energy and adrenaline he has, while how much bullets he can shoot will depend on how much iron he has on his body."

"So, what seems to be the problem?" Adam asked from across them.

"Well, I can't give him something to boost his adrenaline, consumables aren't allowed, nor can I control his diet. There's nothing I can do to enhance his quirk."

"Why not do something about his strains?" Keith said.

Pidge raised a brow. "Strains?"

"Didn't Lance tell you? I only know this because of our tournament fight last year so I'm not sure about the full detail, but his arms would strain when he uses his quirk too much." Shit. Why didn't Lance include this information when he was quirk dumping earlier? It was her fault for not asking about it too but still! It was common sense to tell one's support team all their strengths and weaknesses when asking for a hero costume. Pidge didn't even have the time to get mad as Keith continued, "We were taken to the infirmary after the fight. I specifically heard him telling the school nurse about how shooting both bullets and lasers causes a lot of tension to his hands and arms so he could only handle a certain amount. When he's past his limits, his arms would strain terribly to the point where he can't even lift them."

Several light bulbs popped out of her head. The cogs in her brain started working properly again. Ideas after ideas started filling it. If she couldn't enhance the strengths, just minimize the weaknesses. She had to ask Lance for confirmation later but right then, Pidge didn't want to risk on forgetting anything. She quickly turned to a blank page on her notebook and wrote down every thought.

Adam took a big peek at her notes. "Now, that's an idea. Wow, Keith, you actually helped for once."

"Does this mean I can borrow your car?"

"Nice try, but no." She didn't even have to look to know that Adam was giving Keith that passive aggressive smile. "You two should pack up, it's getting late. I won't let you borrow my car but I will give you a ride home. You too, Pidge."

She dropped her pen, double checking what she wrote before answering, "Oh, okay, thanks. Can you drop me at HHSC? Matt said he needs help with some research."

"Gotcha."

As if on cue, her phone vibrated and rang in her pockets. She excused herself for a second and went just outside the studio. Keith's grunts at Adam echoed through the hall before she closed the door. This hall was completely empty which wasn't unsettling but didn't put her at ease either.

Her grip tightens as her phone showed an unknown number. Hands sweating a river, she finally answered. "Hello?" Despite knowing who it was, she desperately hoped she was wrong.

But just like with everything, Pidge was never wrong. "Hello, Katie. Having a nice evening, love?" A deep male voice came out from the other side of the phone. Her heart rate started to race in the worst way possible.

"What do you want, Lotor?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two updates in one day? i'm on a roll this christmas break. let me know if y'all liking this so far cause this is honestly so fun to write :DD


	4. 04

Lance stared intensely at his paper. _"True or False. A non-licensed individual cannot use their quirks to cause injury to someone even for self defense."_ With a hand on his head, he pouted. Only people who had hero licenses were allowed to use their quirk outside of school or private property right? Even it was for self-defense, some quirk could actually be deadly if not used properly. But wait, it was okay as long as the person didn't kill anyone right?

"2 minutes!" Shiro said to the class. Dang it, _False_. He had four more questions to answer.

Hero Laws wasn't his forte, but at least Shiro was a substitute teacher today. If this was Iverson, he wouldn't give the class a time extension even when half of them weren't done.

God, he was going nuts. Afternoons were when they would have actual hero training so in the morning, they would have to take regular, boring classes like this. Although, Hero Laws were essential to learn in order to become a pro, Lance would rather be in one of the school's training grounds, doing fake rescue missions or kicking some classmates' butt in combat.

"Alright, pens up! Students in the back, collect your row's papers."

Lance quickly wrote his answer to the last question and exhaled. It had been two minutes already? He didn't even had the time to recheck his answers as Rolo reached for his paper. He still wasn't sure about that licenses and self defense question too. Oh well, at least morning classes were over.

"Hunk." He tapped the man seating in front of him. "Let's go grab lunch, I heard they're serving garlic knots today." Lance was aware of how excited he sounded and he couldn't care less. The cafeteria would never top his mother's garlic knots but he'd take what he could get.

"Just a sec." Hunk said, fixing his bag. Everyone except for a couple of students already left the classroom. Lance hoped they weren't on the goal to get some of those garlic knots.

Just as he and Hunk stood up, someone appeared at the door, her thick brown hair standing out. "Hey, Shiro- I mean, Sir."

"Oh, hey, Pidge. What brings you here?"

Lance lighted up. He didn't know why exactly but lately, this honey-eyed, freckled girl had been his main source of serotonin. He didn't complain. Maybe it was the entertainment that came with her snarkiness.

"That assignment due next week?" Pidge walked into the room to Shiro's table and handed him a folder. "Here you go."

"Aren't you a hard worker?" Lance approached her and messed up her already messy hair, leaving his hand there. Hunk followed after a moment.

Something sharp and pointy poked at his palm and he screeched. Grabbing his poor hand, he almost missed the small thorn on top of Pidge's head before it sunk back. _This girl._

Shiro spoke again. "Well, there's no harm in passing assignments early."

"Yeah and there's only a couple weeks before the sports festival. I don't want any homework getting in the way starting tomorrow. Oh and Lance-" She turned to him. "We don't have a meeting later. One of my classmates borrowed the development studio for the day."

"Oh." He was taken aback by how disappointed he sounded. "Well, that means we can do something else instead. Hunk, wanna check out that new arcade at the mall later?"

"Oh yeah! I heard they have laser tag." Hunk beamed. "I was planning to go to the groceries but it's in the same mall so, I'm in."

"Nice. Pidge, you wanna come?" Lance asked with high hopes.

Her eyes seemed to widen. She looked down as if deep in thought. "I'm not really-"

"She'd love to go." Shiro said, putting an encouraging hand on her shoulder.

Before she could even protest, Lance spoke again. "Great! We'll leave after school, sound good?" There was something on the back of his mind telling him that maybe she didn't want to go. From the way she pouted a little at Shiro, she didn't seem like she was uncomfortable, just hesitating.

For a month or so, the two of them had been hanging out everyday during after school meetings and lunchtime. He'd even got her to greet back instead of speedwalking away from him whenever they would cross paths in hallways-

_"Hey,_ _Pidgeon_ _!"_

_"Sup, bamboo stick."_

-But clearly it wasn't enough to break every single barrier between them. She wasn't as closed off as the first time they met a month ago, that day they opened up about each other's experiences with heroes was a good start, but she still wasn't a hundred percent loosened up. There was still a wall between them and Lance was on the process of breaking it. No friend of his should ever feel like they need to keep their feelings to themselves and handle things alone.

Plus, it wasn't everyday he'd meet a literal genius with the driest humor and top tier video game preferences. There was so much she could do and he wanted not just a front row seat, but a VIP pass to the fascinating show that was Katie Holt.

"I guess I could join you guys for a little bit."

Shiro's smile widened at that. "Make sure you hero students won't get beat up too much at training later so you guys can have more fun."

"Yes, Sir." The two hero course students replied.

"Can we go to lunch now? I'm starving." Hunk put a hand on his stomach.

With a rumbling stomach, Lance did the same, mouth salivating at the thought of fresh garlic knots. "Oh, yeah le- No, wait." He stiffened before turning to Shiro who was about to arrange the test papers. "Sir, what's the answer to question number 46?"

An eyebrow raised. "What was that again? It's a true or false right?"

"Yeah, can a person without a hero license use their quirk to cause injury to someone for self defense?"

Shiro was about to answer but Pidge's mouth opened first. "Of course. Article I, Section 4 of the Hero Constitution: Quirks can be used for self defense purposes when in distress or in danger. Self-defense had always been an exception, even before quirks were a thing." She said it like she was explaining how to open a jar.

Silence. It took Lance a moment to react. "Ha- Have you memorized the whole hero constitution?

"Who hasn't?"

"Uh? Everyone!" His arms swung.

Pidge tilted her head, furrowing her brows in confusion. Maybe Lance's empty stomach was getting to him, but he found that gesture so adorable, he wanted to keep her in his pocket. "Really? Well, you guys are the hero course students, you're the ones who should know the constitution."

He knew he should be offended, but he just couldn't help but be amazed. Pidge was smart, he knew that very well, but she just kept finding new ways to impress him everyday and it was incredible.

He had to try memorizing the constitution as well.

"Wow." Hunk said. "I wish you were our classmate. Iverson's a little strict with recitation. If no one can answer one question, he wouldn't resume the class at all."

Shiro chuckled, his eyes landing on Pidge. "Well, it's not too late to transfer. Once you get an offer for recommendation, the application will always be open."

"Recommendation!?" Hunk gasped but just before he could throw a bunch of question at her, she started walking to the door.

"I'm gonna go eat now."

Lance and a jaw dropped Hunk followed immediately. "Wait for us, Pidgey!"

* * *

Pidge wasn't a big fan of malls. Why shop at a crowded store when she could buy things online with the same -or even cheaper- price in the safe space of her room without salesmen and managers following her?

If only she could get a whole arcade online, that she was a huge fan of. So much so that it didn't take as much convincing as normal for her to agree to go with her two... friends? Specifically, Lance and Hunk who were walking by her right, talking something about the sports festival. Well, she guessed it won't hurt to have some fun before-

"Oops!" A high pitched feminine voice said as their shoulder bumped into hers. Intentionally.

Pidge paused, looking up to see said person, she immediately stiffened.

"Sorry about that." The person said quickly, giving Pidge a grin before walking away, their long ponytail swinging almost elegantly. Her hands started to sweat up a storm once again.

_Ezor._

An uncomfortable shiver run down her spine. They were watching.

Before Pidge could even follow her, Lance was immediately by her side. "You okay, Pidge?"

"Who was that?" Hunk followed. 

"I-" She gripped the straps of her bag tightly. "I don't know." Her eyes started to roam around the mall, looking for other ones of Lotor's _friends_. She couldn't find the others, fortunately. Still, the bastard couldn't even give her some time to breathe and it was making her blood boil as well as filling her mind with fear.

"Come on." Voice lowering unexpectedly, Lance put a hand on her back before they continued their walk. "Rude ladies are a waste of time."

Hunk chuckled. "Where's that energy when Nyma almost wrecked your car?" They started to banter once again.

Pidge took a breath and wiped her sweaty palms on her uniform. Later was gonna be hell, so she kept her mind at the present. Her goal now was to just enjoy herself with these two dorks and appreciate the calm before the storm.

* * *

"Nice work, Lance, your loud ass mouth made us lose to a bunch of middle schoolers."

"Hunk was the one who screeched first!" His voice went small. "Mine was just louder."

Hunk rubbed the back of his neck, giving the two an apologetic smile. "The fog machine scared the crap out of me, sorry."

After giving back their vests and handsets to the employees, the three exited the laser tag arena with the weight of taking a big L on their shoulders.

Lance himself couldn't believe that he, Sharpshooter, just lost a game of laser tag to three middle schoolers who haven't even hit puberty yet. Their high pitched victorious laughs were still clear in his mind. He kept himself from groaning. Laser tag was his thing, he was in his environment, but a loud fog machine had to make him release a horror movie worthy scream, ruining his chance to show off what he can do and prove Pidge that she chose the right man to represent her for the sports festival.

"Hey, at least we won five hundred tickets." He argued. "Let's see if we can get something with it."

A scoff came out of Pidge's mouth, sounding more like it was out of irritation rather than amusement. "You just wanna flirt with the guy at the counter."

"Maybe." He didn't. The guy was cute, sure, and maybe Lance was planning to get his number when they first entered the arcade but thanks to some kids, he wasn't in the mood to use his charms anymore. Making a new friend didn't sound so bad, though.

"Uh, you guys go ahead." The two paused and turned to Hunk. He quickly typed something on his phone and put it back in his pocket. "I'll just meet up with someone at the groceries, they need help with picking some ingredients."

"With who?" Lance asked.

"A friend." He started walking to the exit. "I'll meet you guys back at the food court at 6:30!"

Before Lance could even ask who the friend was, Hunk was already running out of the arcade, his backpack bouncing with each step.

"Guess it's just you and me, Pidge." He said to the girl beside him. A brow raised when his eyes landed on her. Pidge's head turned everywhere as if looking around, not in a _This place was cool_ kind of way, but more... wary. She'd been a little stiff ever since she bumped into that lady with a high ponytail earlier. Even while they were playing laser tag, he expected her to be the calmest member of their team, but she was as or even more frantic than him and Hunk.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Pidge." It was subtle, but he didn't miss the way she flinched a little. "You good? You're acting a bit weird."

She let out a chuckle. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? I don't know what you're talking about. Weird? Pff! Weird how? What kind of weird? Weird like I'm acting tired or weird like-"

Something was definitely off.

" _Pidge_." He cut off her rambling. "Breathe."

To his surprise, she actually took a deep breath. "Let's just pick a damn prize." Adjusting her glasses, she turned away from him and started walking to the counter where the prizes were.

The cute guy with a stoic face earlier wasn't there anymore. Maybe his shift was over? Lance couldn't careless if he was being honest, not when a friend of his was completely bothered by something he didn't know.

If only he could distract her somehow-

"Holy shit. Is that the limited edition Killbot Phantasm chess set!?"

And distraction did the heaven give.

Pidge was almost pushing her face onto the glass to look at the said chess set. "How much is that?" She asked the girl on the counter.

"A thousand tickets." The pink haired employee answered with barely any energy.

Pidge turned to him with determined eyes. "How much do we have?"

"Combining the laser tag prize with some tix we gathered while playing earlier we have..." It took him a second to answer, which was embarrassing but a calculator was made for a reason. "Seven hundred."

"Ugh! Three hundred more." She grabbed the sleeve of his uniform with her tiny hands and started pulling him to one of the games. "We're getting that chess set."

Lance couldn't keep the smile on his face as he let himself get pulled by the five foot one woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just realized i basically vld-ed this fic by making the title and chapter 1 lance centric and then by chapter 2 i just gave all the scenes to pidge
> 
> anyways, chapter 5 is almost done, just a few scenes left. it be wild y'all. thank you for all those who keep supporting this fic! so far i'm having the most fun writing this, hope ur enjoying it as much as i do :DD


	5. 05

Pidge was a firm believer in the saying _"You learn new things everyday."_ Today, she learned that her backpack was big enough to fit a whole chess set in it. Was it heavy? Definitely. Was it worth breaking her spine just so she could carry home the prize she and Lance got for gaining a thousand and fifty tickets at the arcade? Absolutely.

"You sure you don't want help with that?" Lance asked. "I could just carry the set until we could sit at the food court to wait for Hunk? I can feel your back cracking just by staring at you."

She fixed the strap of her bag, trying her best to walk like her posture wasn't getting worse. "I'm fine. Besides, I won't be able to wait for Hunk. I need to do some stuff before going home."

" _Some stuff_. You and Hunk really need to stop being vague with your shenanigans."

"And you need to stop being nosy."

"Fair enough."

In this case, being nosy of her _business_ could actually put his life in danger. Today was the day she was supposed to meet Lotor for another meeting, the bastard reminded her again on the phone days ago.

Daibazaal's reputation was destroyed immensely after what happened with their founder and her family, as it should. They deserved every criticism, every coin lost, every sidekick resigning, every hate from the media and the public, every single one of it for Zarkon had committed a cruel thing that not only put dirt on his and his agency's name, but also the hero industry. What made Pidge's blood boil even more was although, Daibazaal faced a lot of financial and societal complications, the crimes of their leader wasn't enough to tear down the agency itself. Zarkon's son, Lotor, took over and managed to rebrand the agency to gain people's trust again.

According to news articles and reports, sidekicks and other employees in the agency described Lotor as a great boss, a person who was absolutely against what his father did, and a pro hero who prioritized the safety of everyone more than anything else. No one other than his minions knew about what was going on behind closed doors, unfortunately.

Pidge's hands started sweating again, a sense of uneasiness coming through. Her guts didn't fail her once again because while they were walking, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glimpse of a woman with a high ponytail seemingly waving at her from a clothing store. Pidge paused to look at the said store and sure enough, she saw Ezor pretending to window shop there as if she really cared for some cheap clothes. She looked around once again and noticed they stopped near the mall's exit. Grabbing her phone, she took a glance at the time. 30 minutes before his meeting with Ezor's boss.

"Something wrong?" Lance asked, worry clear in his voice.

"I better go." She put her phone back in her pocket. "You gonna be okay waiting for Hunk alone?"

"Yup. I bet he's done with groceries by now. Are _you_ gonna be okay? I can walk you home since Hunk's with his friend anyway."

Something in her chest warmed up at how genuinely concerned he was. A daisy started growing on her head but she immediately stopped it from doing so, saving herself from embarrassment. The thought of him walking her home was nice too, spending more time with him would've been fun, but she couldn't risk him being caught with all her mess.

"I'm fine, Lance. Like I said, I have errands to do." She gave him a small smile. "But thank you for your offer... and for today. You have chess set privileges so you can borrow it anytime."

"Borrow?" His brow raised. "I co-own that, Pidge. It's our chess set, you don't have full custody."

Pidge couldn't help but laugh, making some of the tension leave her body. "Stop treating it like a child, you goofball." She turned to the exit. "You can have _our_ chess set anytime. Happy?"

"Absolutely."

"See you, bamboo stick." She finally had the courage to walk away. This whole time, Lance's presence made her feel as if she was in a strong barrier-like dome, protected from anything dangerous outside of it, like an umbrella protecting her from the rain, but right then, she had no choice but to face the storm herself.

"See ya, Pidgey."

Before she could look away, she had a glimpse of Ezor approaching the exit as well. 

* * *

"Katie! It's nice to see you again, love." Sitting in the middle of the couch, Lotor greeted her with a warm smile. If Pidge was meeting him for the first time, she would've fell for that fake smile and not notice the grim in his eyes. "Sit down, make yourself at home."

Pidge hesitated as she stared at the chair across him. The woman behind her, Zethrid, gave her a slightly hard push, making Lotor's last statement less of an offer and more of a threat. She looked back for a second, noticing how there was one sidekick missing. _Weird._

Leaving her no choice, she sat down and rested her bag beside her without a word. It was a shame how comfy this chair was or how fancy the whole room looked. There was a mini bar counter on one side and a small living room like space where they were currently at. Other than the fact that there were no windows at all, it was an unsuspicious place. From an outside perspective, no one would assume that this room in the backside of a real bar was somewhat of a hideout for Daibazaal's illegal activities.

The whole walk to the back door of Daibazaal's not so secret bar was a nightmare. Once Pidge had walked far enough from the mall, Ezor approached her cheerfully, acting like she was an old friend of hers who just happened to randomly cross paths with her, fooling every stranger in the street. Even worse, the feeling of being followed didn't leave her back for some reason. She assumed it was another one of Lotor's minions making sure no one was getting suspicious.

As much as Pidge wanted to run, ask someone for help, tell the police she was being blackmailed by a group of heroes, the image of Lotor even being near her family would just give her stomach an uneasy sensation and lead her to do otherwise.

Lotor put his stupid long white hair behind his ear before speaking again. "Apologies for disrupting your little date, but we have important things to discuss."

"It wasn't a date." Her tone came out more defensive than she intended.

Ezor giggled from behind her. "It surely became a date once the big guy left." She started walking to Lotor's side with Zethrid following her. "You should've seen it, Lotor. I wanted to approach her sooner just like you told me but the tall one never left her side even once, it was kinda annoying."

Pidge hated how her face warmed up because of that.

"You should've just beat up the guy and call it a day." Zethrid commented.

Lotor chuckled. "How sweet." 

Before he could even comment anything else, Pidge to spoke again. "Let's just get this over with. What else do you want? I already gave you all the information you need for your _little project_. I even developed the tech you need to make the pills."

"Ah, yes. You did help a lot, wasn't expecting less from a Holt." He rested the side of his face on the back of his hand. The way he looked so relaxed yet so malicious didn't sit well with her. "But you see, one of the ingredients on the list you gave me for the pill was, how do I put this– a _little bit_ hard to find." Pidge couldn't help but gulp, sensing his sarcasm. "I've never heard of a flower called juniberry until I saw it on said list. I searched it up and turns out it's extinct. So I wondered... how the bloody hell did the Holts find a way to get one of those?" His eyes fell on hers with a grin that made her want to slap him right in the face. "Do you have any idea, love?"

She kept her mouth shut, fist clenching hard and knowing exactly where this was going.

"Tell me, Katie, your quirk is called Flourishing, it allows your skin to grow and manipulate _any_ type of plant that exists or have existed, correct?" He sat up straight, clearly not waiting for an answer. "Would you be so kind to provide us some juniberry flowers? Just a few, enough to produce maybe a hundred pack of quirk amplifier pills."

Her eyes widened. "Why do you need so many? The deal is you're only gonna make them for you and your sidekicks."

"Katie, dear, I'm not only a pro hero, I'm also a businessman. Daibazaal's still lacking financially, if we sell some pills to other hero agencies–"

"No! That is the last thing you should do." She was almost shouting, causing his sidekicks to lock their eyes on her.

_"Promise me you two won't tell anyone about these pills." Sam Holt said sternly to his children. "The BSS is right, it would be too dangerous to get this out to the public. They won't confiscate the ones we made already so we'll still be able to continue our research, though, the bureau and I have decided that it's better if it stays just between us three."_

_Matt and Pidge looked at each other with puzzled faces._ _When they were called to go to their father's office earlier, they weren't certainly expecting this news._

_The older one of the two spoke. "I don't understand. Didn't we make it to help heroes get stronger? I'm sure if we give this to pros like Zarkon, he wouldn't let it get to the wrong person."_

_"Matt," Sam sighed, resting his clasped hands on his desk and looking his son dead in the eye. "Zarkon_ is _the wrong person. Knowing him, he'd just use the quirk amplifiers for himself. Which isn't at all bad because he is the top 2 pro hero in the_ _country_ _but his main goal right now is to take the number 1 spot from_ _Alfor_ _. He's desperate and being too reckless these days, if he starts using the pills, people would notice changes, they'd investigate and it wouldn't take long for the media to know what's going on."_

 _The siblings went silent, processing all these things happening. It_ _all started with just a fun little experiment. The discovery of Pidge being able to grow even extinct plants on her body lead her and Matt to learn about the rare quirk boosting component found in_ _juniberry flowers._ _Matt just graduated then and Pidge haven't got her support license yet so they needed an expert's supervision, that was when their dad came in. It was supposed to be nothing but a harmless research... How did it lead to both her Dad and brother being attacked by a narcissist hero?_

Pidge continued. "The reason why my dad didn't want the pills to be out in the first place was exactly because of this! Even if you only sell it to heroes, villains would eventually get their hands on this."

"It doesn't matter. It's worth the risk."

"You think people's lives are worth risking?" Pidge could just imagine the pure disgust on her face. "And you call yourself a pro hero! You're worse than Zarkon!"

"Don't ever compare me to that man." Lotor got to his feet, the fake warmth in his eyes disappearing completely. "He wanted power for himself! I want more power for the hero industry. Imagine how stronger heroes could be, how many more lives could be saved if the strengths of their quirk have been tripled!"

She stood up as well and widened her stance. "Have you ever thought about how many more lives could be in danger if villains' quirks have been enhanced too? Not every scientist works for hero agencies, _Mr. Businessman_. Once the other side have managed to get even just a single pill, they will find a way to replicate it or even develop them into something more dangerous."

Lotor scoffed. "Not if we do that first, not if we have you on our side."

"That's not the point! You're stupid if you think I will continue helping you."

"Oh? Do you want me to ask others in your family then?"

Pidge's body stiffened. The grin on his face making her jaw clench and eyebrows furrow. Memories of her dad and brother laying unconscious in hospital beds followed by her mother balling her eyes out flashed through her mind for a second but it was enough to make breathing difficult. They had been through so much, she would do anything to keep her family safe.

Them and everyone else.

"Good luck on finding a way to get some extinct flowers, you ass. Seriously, threatening someone just to get the thing you want huh? Sounds very well like something Zarkon would do."

A pause. Pidge saw exactly when something in him snapped. His eyes widened and brows furrowed in rage, his charming facade dropping immediately. What she didn't expect was an unsettling smile. "Ladies, you know what to do."

Just like that, Zethrid activated her power up quirk by clenching her fist, her muscles growing three times bigger than normal. Ezor pointed a gun at Pidge as her skin slowly changed and started camouflaging.

Pidge stepped back a little, preparing her stance and ignoring how she was basically trembling. It was times like this she would actually regret not taking the hero course. Despite having a combat based quirk that could match even the top heroes in the country, she still lacked proper training. As per usual, she had to rely on intellect to form at least decent strategies and try to avoid having the same faith as her family.

Having just the brains didn't work out for them, though. She took a heavy, shaky breath at the thought.

"Sorry about this, Katie-Kat." Ezor said, not sounding apologetic at all.

Ezor was about to aim at Pidge's legs when a different gunshot sound echoed throughout the room, bullets hitting Ezor's gun followed by Zethrid screaming and falling on her knees.

"Don't you touch her!"

Pidge's stomach flipped in the best way as she heard the familiar voice. Turning her attention to the mini bar where the sound came from, there, standing behind the counter was Lance. His right hand mimicking a finger gun, smoke coming out of his pointer and middle fingertips from the bullets released.

Lance always had the kindest and most carefree eyes but right then, she couldn't see anything but pure rage in them. She had never seen him this angry before but for some reason, it didn't scare her one bit. No matter what he did, he'd always make her feel at ease.

"How the bloody hell did you–!" Lotor didn't get to complete his sentence when a woman with short hair appeared through the walls and knocked him to the ground.

_Wait, that was–_

"Acxa! What do you think you're doing!?"

"The right thing."

Before Pidge could even process what was happening, Lance was already by her side. "Pidge!" He grabbed her shoulders and scanned her from head to toe, his eyes softer than they were seconds ago. "Pidge, are you okay?"

It took her a moment to process, the weight on her chest getting lighter the longer she stared at him. "I– I'm fine. How did you–"

"I'll explain later. Let's get out of here first, Acxa will handle them." He grabbed her hand and started dragging her to the door. She could hear grunts and bodies being beaten up in the back but she didn't dare look back.

They managed to get out of the room and proceeded to run through the hallway, adrenaline rushing through her from head to toe. Just when they were about to finally reach the exit, a strong hand grabbed Pidge by the neck.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zethrid asked threateningly.

Pidge tried to scream but her lungs felt like it was being drenched with poison, all she could do was try to cough out the pain. She heard another couple of gunshots, making Zethrid grunt.

"Nice try, boy, that wouldn't work this time. You were lucky I haven't powered up to 100% earlier."

"Let her go!"

A loud insulting laugh came out of her. "Come get her yours– Agh!"

Pidge managed to grow a large bark-like thorn on her elbow and stab Zethrid's arm. It wasn't enough to get her hand to release her but she didn't panic, she had to wait.

"You brat! You think a little thorn could–" Air slowly filled Pidge's lungs again as Zethrid's grip loosened. "What the!?" She threw Pidge to the side like a sack of feathers instead of dropping her. Bracing herself for a hard fall to the ground, Pidge gasped as she instead fell into lean yet strong arms. Lance groaned as his body hit the wall trying to catch her, leading both of them to the ground.

She coughed and inhaled for more air, trembling hand adjusting her glasses and wiping the tears that formed in her eyes because of the pain.

"I got you. I got you." Lance said with a deep breath.

"You–" She coughed again before facing him. "You really need to stop trying to be a human cushion, you know? You don't have a lot of squish."

"Wow, thank you so much, Lance for saving me from having a concussion." Lance said dramatically, making her chuckle at the sarcasm.

Pidge wanted to thank him properly but her adrenaline was taking control of her body right then, causing her to get on her feet immediately.

Zethrid didn't move a step. The hero stared at her arms, then her feet, then her whole body with a horrified expression before turning to her and shouting. "What did you do to me!?"

"Ever heard of the Strychnos Plant, Zethrid? Back then it's often used in creating poisonous arrows that could either kill or cause extreme paralysis." She smirked proudly. "Don't worry, it'll wear off."

A loud cheer came from behind. "God, Pidge, you fearless little badass! You're so cool!"

 _Fearless huh?_ With her whole body shaking and her palms sweating a whole ocean, she said with a smirk "I know."

The two then continued to run and finally managed to exit the building. It was already dark outside, even darker since they were in a narrow alleyway which was completely empty. No people, no parked cars, just trash bags scattered around and the moon providing them light.

Just when they thought they were finally safe, Acxa's body came crashing through the walls of the building, making a big hole. She fell to the ground, almost hitting Lance and Pidge who were just running for their lives.

"Acxa! What happened? Where's Lotor and the other chick?" Lance asked, helping the scratched up hero to get on her feet.

"Ezor's out." She answered out of breath. "My boss however..."

"Looking for me?" The three stiffened at the sound of his voice. Lotor walked out of the wrecked wall, his hair levitating and moving around eerily.

They all backed up, putting them in the dead end of the alleyway. Acxa stood in front of the two Garrison students, widening her stance as if getting ready to attack. "Sharpshooter, your a second year right?" She asked without turning back. "Got your hero license already?"

"J– Just my provisional license." Lance stammered, seemingly taken aback being called by his hero name.

"That's good. Get ready."

Pidge knew her last statement wasn't just meant for Lance so they both activated their quirk. Pidge released strong vines from the back of her neck and Lance held his right hand, preparing to shoot.

Lotor spoke again, this time Looking directly at Pidge. "I'm gonna give you one last chance, Katie. Give up or your friends and family will be the ones to pay the price."

"You're acting like a real villain right now, Lotor. I'm not even surprised this is your true color."

He scoffed. "As if you're perfect yourself little miss hero anti."

"Whose fault do you think it is that I'm like that, genius?"

Impatience was clear in his face when he spoke, "Enough talking." Lotor's long thick hair extended to capture her which Lance immediately sliced off using lasers with his left hand. Pidge was impressed his lasers could even damage Lotor's hair that was powered by his Medusa quirk. It wasn't supposed to be easily cut by normal sharp objects or average powered lasers. She guessed his body was just that full of adrenaline right then.

"Dang, that's some hair." Lance said. Said hair grew back immediately, though.

It was Acxa's turn to activate her quirk. Sinking down, she quickly phased through the ground. Lotor turned around and as if he predicted her moves, she repelled herself behind him. Acxa threw a punch but Lotor blocked it with his hair. They lost themselves in battle once again.

Acxa's quirk was powerful. Watching her fight against her own boss, Pidge wondered why she remained to be Lotor's sidekick for years when it was clear her skills and quirk could beat his any day.

Pidge knew she could handle the fight by herself, but her urge to help was getting stronger as Lotor got more and more hits on her. Her feet was about to move when Lotor managed to get a good hit on Acxa and his hair went flying to her direction again.

This time, he made the hair pieces sharper, the tips mimicking multiple daggers. Before it could reach her, Pidge grew vines on her palm and wrapped it around his spiky hair. She then applied what she learned from all those tug of war games during PE and wrapped the other end of vines around her hand before pulling as hard as she could, causing Lotor to almost drop to the ground.

Her move backfired as quickly as she memorized the hero constitution when Lotor did the exact same thing and controlled his hair to pull her. She almost went flying but Lance caught her again by holding onto her waist. Maybe it was the adrenaline but she swore her heart skipped a beat when her back met his chest.

Releasing the same amount of powerful lasers, he managed to cut through Lotor's hair for the second time. It was then that Acxa got back to her feet and the two continued their fight. Acxa did her best to push Lotor farther away from Pidge and Lance but not to the point where they would move away from the uncrowded haven that was the alleyway. Should they run? No. It was too risky to even walk past them.

Something distracted her before she could even continue her thoughts. It was faint that Pidge almost missed the way a pained groan came out of Lance after his attack. She turned to him, his right hand was grabbing his left arm and squeezing them.

_Oh no._

* * *

It was like his muscles were tearing apart. He tried to move his left arm again but was immediately struck by the familiar pain. Having heard of the pro-hero before, Lance knew Lotor was famous for his extremely strong and regrowing hair, only the most powerful villains had managed to cut through that monstrosity. Lance knew he had to use too much of his power in order to cut Lotor's dang hair and he did. He couldn't say he regretted it or he wasn't willing to do it again, as long as no scratch would be put on her.

"Lance, what's happening?" Pidge asked, her voice frantic.

Making her worry was the last thing he should be doing. Just looking back at her conversation with Lotor earlier made Lance's blood start to boil, thinking about how she was basically being blackmailed for who knew how long. He reminded himself to give Lotor a punch or two once they've captured him.

Pidge didn't need more things to stress about, especially him since it wasn't her fault he had a mediocre quirk and a weak body. Putting up a reassuring smile, he said, "My energy's kinda fading, but I'm okay. Guess I've used to much power on Medusa right there."

"Then don't–" She let out a sneeze. It wasn't a small sneeze, more like a bark if he closed his eyes. Nonetheless, it was adorable.

"Bless y–" He was cut off by her sneezing again, and again. "I'd say bless you but after your third one, it's between you and God."

She scratched her nose with her sleeve. "Sorry. I'm just allergic to assholes, being around Lotor for too much does that."

"Wait, really?"

"No. I am allergic to many types of pollen, though."

Lance's eyebrow raised, wondering why she was having an allergic reaction when there was no plant in sight... until it hit. "Hold on, what!? But your quirk–!"

"Yeah, shocker. Every quirk has its drawback." She said whilst making all the vines and thorns in her body sink back to her skin. "The more I use it, the more my allergies react. One time I used it to much, I actually fainted from the headache."

He chuckled. "That drawback is both funny and concerning. It's still an advantage though, you can scare off villains with your loud sneeze." He knew it was not the right time to tease, but it was worth seeing her roll her eyes fondly and genuine smile.

"Fuck off." She snorted. "How's your arm?"

He squeezed his left arm again, it still hurt but mentally, he was feeling a little less frail. Who knew a simple reminder of the fact that all quirks have drawbacks, which have been taught to him ever since he manifested his quirk at age five, could boost his confidence like that? Ironically, it also reminded him that quirks were like body parts and had limits, they probably shouldn't wait until they've finally reach it to escape from the walking Loreal commercial.

Lance just prayed to the one up there that they got his message.

"It's fine. I can still move the rest of my body. Don't worry, I think they'll be here soon."

"Who?"

The sound of a loud crash followed by Lotor screaming caught their attention before he could even answer. His first instinct was to move in front of Pidge, preparing himself for possible attacks. Lance's eyes widened just as it adjusted to the darkness. There was one– no, four familiar figures surrounding the two heroes from Daibazaal.

One just threw Lotor to the ground _hard_ , her pink and white hero suit standing out in the dark. The other was wrapping Acxa's wrist using a random metal and tightened it with his cybernetic arm.

"Is– Is that Allura and Shiro?" Pidge asked, moving beside him to take a closer look.

Relief washing over him, he answered, "It's all of them."

The two then turned to a shaking voice calling out to them. "Lance! Pidge!" Hunk cried, running to them as he turned his crystal arm back to normal. Lance almost burst into tears seeing his best friend.

"Hunk! And wait–" The tears got sucked up in his eyes, noticing there were actually two people approaching. What the–

"Keith!" Pidge said. "What– What's happening, how are you all here?"

The man currently with purple skin and cat like features walked up to his friend first, his yellow eyes seemingly scanning her for injuries.

"Yeah, Keith why are _you_ here? Where the heck did you come from?"

Panting, he looked at him stoicly, "Groceries."

Lance gasped dramatically when he immediately connected the dots. He looked at Hunk, then at Keith, then back to Hunk. " _He's_ the friend!?"

"Yes and you should thank that he was there. I wouldn't have stopped panicking because of your message if Keith wasn't there."

"You're also lucky Shiro and The Princess were on patrol nearby or else we would've went here by ourselves." Keith added.

Hunk was almost crying when he whined, "Next time be more specific, okay? Your location and a short 'Help!' text almost gave me a heart attack, Lance!"

"Well, it was obviously effective since you guys are he–!" Lance made the bad decision to try and swing his left arm, hissing immediately at the pain and being reminded how he had reached his limit moments ago. It was starting to throb a little. _Not good, not good._

He flinched when a small hand rested on his shoulder. "We don't time for this. Let's ask Allura if she could ease your arm a bit." Pidge said.

After making sure Lotor was properly tied up, the four Garrison students finally walked to the two pro heroes, while Hunk was scolding Lance about using his quirk too much again, of course.

Shiro and Allura's expression went from neutral pro hero mode to pure distress when their eyes fell on the youngest Holt. Shiro was the one who spoke first. "Pidge? What are you doing here? Don't tell me–" He must've noticed the mark that Zethrid's hand made around her neck for his eyes went dark, his fist clenching as he looked at Lotor who was kneeling on the ground with his body tied up in a glowing rope made from Allura's energy.

"What did you do to her!?" Said woman grabbed Lotor by the collar, fist clenching so hard it could rip through the cloth. "You monsters just couldn't leave the Holts alone, can't you? You and your father are no heroes."

Lance wasn't even the one getting the threatening looks from the Princess but he swore he started to sweat in fear.

Lotor didn't open his mouth and just looked at her straight in the eyes, unwilling to show any reaction. Acxa who had her hand tied up was the one to speak up. "You have no idea." She said simply. "I'll be willing to tell you everything but right now, we have to take the kids to the hospital. Sharpshooter's arm seemed to be messed up."

"I'm– I'm fine." Lance lied on impulse.

"No, you're not." Pidge said, surprisingly seeing through him. She turned to the the pros once again. "Did you call an ambulance already?"

"The police and ambulance will be here soon, don't worry." Shiro said. "For now we just need to keep these two from escap–"

Was irony supposed to be funny? Cause this one for sure wasn't, Lance thought. Somehow, they all forgot Lotor's hair could not only grow from the roots but from the tips as well.

It was like a bolt of lightning, but Lance's senses were fast enough to catch it as if everything was in slow motion. A thick, sharp strand of Lotor's hair was moving towards Pidge. His heart raced unpleasantly, hearing every beat in his ear as an image of her covered in crimson flashed through his mind.

Just like moments ago, his first instinct was to rush in front of Pidge... and said instinct did he follow.

Before he even knew it, he was sinking to his knees. Pidge tried to support his body from the front, but all it did was lessen the impact of his fall. She let go for a moment, screams could be heard but the exact words he couldn't decipher. The pain from his left arm suddenly felt like an ant bite compared to the one on his back. The smell of iron hit his nose, his vision getting blurrier little by little. 

His eyes were heavy, everything was heavy.

As if just a second had passed, she was back. Small hands grabbed his shoulders once again, shaking him slightly, trying to make him stay awake. Numb, all he felt was numb. His eyelids continued to drop several times and the girl on top of him seemed to dislike that. Her hands then grabbed his face gently, a thumb brushing through his cheekbone. She was saying something, he guessed it was just his name over and over again.

He scanned her from head to toe for the umpteenth time. No hint of crimson in sight. Good, she was okay. Were those petunias on her hair? He wasn't sure.

He couldn't keep his eyes open just like she wanted, his whole body was numb except for the tearing pain from his back. Having pain as the last thing he felt before he closed his eyes was cruel, but at least, sunset eyes behind round glasses were the last thing he saw before it was replaced by pure darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he's not dead lmao
> 
> anyway, i was gonna post this weeks ago but i got distracted. the distraction? obey me lol let me know what y'all think of this update and don't forget to wash ur hands!


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